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JOURNAL

Mushrooms, explained properly

Two threads: what the research actually says about Lion's Mane, Reishi and Cordyceps, and how mushrooms are grown from a clean culture to a harvest. Written by the people who make the extracts.

The science

3 articles

What each mushroom does, which compound does it, and what the human trials really found.

Close-up of a white Lion's Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) with its coral-like cascade of hanging spines.
The science5 min read

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus): erinacine A, NGF, and what the research really says

Erinacine A, NGF and two small human trials: the honest evidence on Lion's Mane, plus how much dual-extraction tincture to take and how long to give it.

A hard, varnished reddish-brown reishi bracket (Ganoderma lucidum) growing on dead hardwood.
The science7 min read

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): the calm adaptogen

Reishi will not knock you out — it is an adaptogen. Ganoderic acid A, the 132-patient fatigue trial, and why the growing site decides how strong it is.

Bright orange Cordyceps militaris fruiting bodies growing as slender clubs from a lab substrate.
The science6 min read

Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris): clean energy, endurance, and the cordycepin story

Does cordyceps actually do anything for endurance? Cordycepin explained, the VO2max trial read honestly, and why weeks beat one dose before a race.

Cultivation guides

5 articles

The full chain, step by step: clone a mushroom, keep it clean on agar, scale it through liquid culture and grain, then fruit it.

Cultivation guide · Step 18 min read

Cloning mushrooms: the full protocol, from still-air box to petri dish

Tear the fruit body open, take 2 mm of interior flesh, cool the blade on agar: the still-air-box protocol that copies a strain instead of gambling on spores.

Cultivation guide · Step 27 min read

Agar in Mycology: Isolation, Purity, and a Strain Library You Control

Why a stack of petri dishes changes your results: a 2% agar home recipe, sterilising at 121 °C, streaking down to one colony, and a fridge library of strains.

Cultivation guide · Step 36 min read

Liquid Mycelium: Growing Fungi From a Living Culture, Not a Spore Print

A spore syringe is dormant; liquid culture is a fungus already awake. How to mix the broth, sterilise the jar, and tell fluffy strands from bacterial haze.

Cultivation guide · Step 45 min read

Grain spawn: how to grow it, step by step

Between a clean culture and a full substrate sits a jar of colonised grain. Rinsing, the 12-hour soak, sterilising at 121 °C, and the 10–14 days after.

Cultivation guide · Step 55 min read

Growing Oyster Mushrooms at Home: Cheap, Fast, and Worth the Shelf Space

One block the size of a loaf, straw or spent coffee grounds for food, a first harvest near day 25: how oyster mushrooms earn their place on a kitchen shelf.